Isn’t presenting and public speaking very much like that? In one sense, it’s just a conversation. After all, you talk all the time. You interact. You strive to influence, persuade and entertain others, every day of your life. Commonplace.

But doing that when the pressure’s on—in an interview, in the boardroom, in front of the cameras—that’s far from commonplace.

I’ve always said that effective communication is about making a connection. And making a connection challenges you to be fully available. To do that, you have to be open. Sounds simple. But you soon discover it takes practice to stay open. It takes practice to stay open when you’re under pressure, when you have to perform, when the team is counting on you. In those situations, everything conspires to close you down.

In Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, Shunryu Suzuki says, “So to find your own way under some restriction is the way of practice. When the restrictions you have do not limit you, this is what we mean by practice.”

All those weird exercises we do in public speaking training have one objective: reinforcing your ability to stay open, even under restriction, even with distractions, even when things get complicated. You’re developing the ability to perform the commonplace under far-from-commonplace conditions.